Moffitt Cancer Center
 

Just curious about today's fullpage "ad" in the paper this morning regarding the Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute and the new cancer center. Being new to the Villages we were very impressed that Moffitt was going to be locally available, but after reading the ad I'm wondering if this is unnecessary duplication of services. Anyone out there have info on RBO or the difference in services between the two medical choices??:undecided:

moffitt
 

After reading that "ad" I too wondered what is going on. It did seem as though there will be a duplication of services. Having lived in Tampa for 15 years we are very familiar with Moffitt and were happy to see it was branching out to The Villages, but now I am wondering if it is really necessary. Having not had any experience with Cancer I too would like to hear opinons of those who have dealt with this issue.

Mighty strange how one treatment center can outfit their center without any donations and another larger center is asking for donations! Maybe the "family" has found another way to milk the cow?

Cancer Survivor
 

I had the good fortune to have Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer at
Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute. They are highly professional, caring and best of all, got rid of all the Cancer cells. :BigApplause:

It is another beautiful day in The Villages. Am I waking up to yet another Morse bashing? It is getting old, indeed. Oh, I see this is yesterday's bashing. Sorry.

For an amateur
 

psychoanalyst, you sure are defensive.

It isn't clear to me either.....
 

I fortunately haven't had the need for radiation here in TV. I don't know how they do it here but up north you usually go to an oncologist who is your primary person guiding you through treatment. He/she has a radiation center and/or a radiologist who he likes and trusts and sends you there. It just isn't getting under the machine and taking the rays. PRECISE measurements have to be taken and they are marked on your body and the position of your body is changed during the process.The radiation was given five or six days a week for a total of 30 days The burn that eventually happens has to be addressed for pain and for treatment. It isn't simple.

When I read this my first thought is that the people who own the Boissenault business feel threatened by the Moffitt center. My second thought was that I have never seen this kind of advertising (?) by a medical facility.I am just guessing that Boissonault is a radiation treatment facilty only. (I don't know) Please correct me if I am wrong. Both the Moffitt and this Boissenault are accredited. The Boissenaullt has five locations, Ocala, here...and three other places. The Moffitt center is more than a radiation facility. It has the expertise of several oncologists I would guess, since it is pretty big facility in Tampa. Years ago my stepmother went there for her cancer.

The oncology associates who treated my cancer in Cincinnati had ...maybe 40 oncologists on staff. I still considered Sloan Kettering or Mayo...just because it was MY cancer. You are pretty scared at the time of diagnosis.

If I had a choice here...right now..I would go to Tampa to Moffitt or to Shands up in Gainesville because they are large teaching hospitals. Just simply because I don't know anyone who has been treated here, or anything much about what is available, not because I don't think they have good doctors and treatment here in TV.

I don't know why they want to use their own radiologists and equipment...

Maybe it is because the Morses want to show their power. I thought I would say it before someone else does. Or maybe because a satillite of the Moffitt wants to have all of the treatments under one roof.........I don't know. I am not a doctor. Just a grateful patient.

The question that you should be asking is, "How are they funding the equipment for the Leesburg's Moffit Center?" Not bashing anyone, but asking a question.

Why donate for the same equipment and quality of service?
 

According to their website they have been in business over 20 years, 13 years in The Villages. All of their doctors are board certified and affiliates of the Moffitt and they seem to have state of the art equipment. I am definitely planning on attending their open house, I want to see for myself who they are and what they have to offer because if they are legit, as it seems they are, the donation request is unreasonable.

And I might add that Radiation Therapy is still a very profitible venture. No wonder that there is a lot of competition in this market.

I'm from the midwest where Mayo is THE place to go. There...Mayo has satelitte clinics and hospitals in other communities. I think they are just making it easier (Moffitt) for people who have cancer. Our community (let's face it) is one of people who are having all sorts of medical issues---cancer being one---and "they" making it better to be treated for whatever we might have. I'm grateful for the convenience. While I'm at it...I wouldn't 2nd guess another facility being around. We don't wnd guess when a new doctor comes to town or a new dentist. It just makes the selection a better mix. IF one doesn't like it here---we have the options to travel.

Again, let's remember, the word is 'donation'. If you have any issues with them then please do not donate. If you feel that you'd like to contribute then please do so. If you are a citizen of TV then none of your $ is being used to furnish.

Either way they won't turn you down if you ever need them as a patient. And if there is too much competition they go out of business. Adam Smith at work again.

Moffitt Cancer Center
 

I don't know about the State of Florida but in Michigan radiation equipment is very tightly controlled. In Michigan there has to be a proposal with a certificate of need for the radiation facility. The thought is that it would benefit the patient to have facilities that are conveniently located. Some radiation treatments last 23 sessions. Perhaps it is to help those who don't wish to travel to Tampa.

Don't be misled
 

I read the RBOI.com website, Moffitt COMPREHENSIVE Cancer Center's website, and also the National Cancer Institute's website because NCI does the "Comprehensive" cancer center accreditation and designation.

R. Boussaneault is a RADIATION oncology provider and from reading their site, radiation therapy is all they do.

Moffitt is one of 40 Comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, and the only one if Florida. See:

http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/canc...ters-list.html

Moffitt and the other comprehensive cancer centers provide an interdisciplinary approach to patient care and treatment.

"Patients at Moffitt Cancer Center are evaluated and treated through clinical programs. Most oncology programs focus on specific organ or disease types and are made up of an interdisciplinary team of specialists.

Teams may include surgeons, medical oncologists or hematologists, pathologists, radiologists and radiation oncologists. This provides every patient an approach of comprehensive and coordinated care......"
http://www.moffitt.org/site.aspx?spi...4302D83694EBC0

Having the same calibre of oncology radiation equipment does not put a local, private radiation oncologist practice in the same league as an NCI-designated, not-for-profit Comprehensive Cancer Center like Moffitt.

Well researched!! Thank you for this explanation. That is what I thought, but you explained is so well.

Good research but not accurate
 

OK, I went back and looked at the Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute ad and website and also at the Villages Daily Sun from October 28th groundbreaking article. This Boissoneault group is accredited by the American College of Radiology, they don't seem to claim to be an NCI comprehensive center.

What is interesting if you read the Oct 28 Daily sun article is that quote "The medical doctor that provides radiation therapy, the physicist and dosimetrist will all be Moffitt employees. And then we'll have all the local private medical oncologists also in our center algonside their Moffitt counterparts in radiation". So what is interesting is that Moffitt is only bringing one radiation doctor as the Boissoneault ad said. The key word is that they will keep all the "local" medical oncologists.

Something is fishy here, either this Boissoneault guys are lying (and somehow managed to be in the Villages for 13 years, let's face it, how many of us have been in the Villages that long?) or someone is trying to bring only one doctor and have the community believe is the entire Moffitt center coming our way and on top of everything the community is being asked to pay for the same equipment that is already here. More information is needed, the truth is out there somewhere.

Thanks for the research, LuvIt. As with most things, there are two sides to every story and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. I'm sure the Boissaneault facility is a quality operation. I am assuming that someone (Moffitt or TVRH) has done the demographic research to justify the demand and need for a new facility here. RBO probably cannot meet the total demand.

The paper mentioned yesterday that a storefront in Lake Sumter Landing will be open on Monday dedicated to the Moffitt center fundraising effort. A good opportunity to stop in and get your quesions answered.

The only problem I have about asking for donations for the equipment is that Moffitt and Villages Health System will be billing everyones insurance and getting copays for all of that equipment. Are we going to get a discount on the price if we have treatment there?

You are catching on. Are the residents of Leesburg being asked to donate the equipment for their center, or is it coming from CFHA? My guess is that this is the price that we have to pay to get a center in TV. I seriously doubt the financial feasibility study supports two centers without this donation.

I don't mind that other people would benefit.

As Russ says, you can choose to donate or not. It will be there for you anyway.

Ditto. I am very satisfied with the treatment I received at RBOI. Can't say for sure all of my cancer cells are gone, but my PSA, 0.04, keeps me smiling.

thanks for the explanation
 

Thanks for the explanation on the difference between the two centers. It does sound as if we can support both centers with Moffitt being more varied in what it offers. Anything we can do to fight cancer is good with me!!

How close is it to the Villages. Do they need Nurses. As for teaching hospitals , I would not get sick in July if I were you. That is when all the newbes start.This is not opinion. This was told to me by other Nurses at a teaching hospital. They also taught me how to protect myself from the newbes coming back to their charts and charting an order at 8 am when they actuallly wrote the order at 2 pm. Then trying to blame Nurses for missing it.

I would rather work with a team that all know each other and trust each other when taking care of patients. There are great doctors everywhere!

DISCOUNT !!!!! How about if you have a better chance of being cured?

Treatment needs coordination between multiple specialists
 

Cancer diagnosis and treatment needs to be a multi-specialty, cohesive approach, in which each step of the process and its timing is a coordinated effort.

Usually, some of the specialties involved are
- the primary doctor or specialist who orders initial diagnostics
- radiologists doing diagnostic imaging, needle biopsies, etc.,
- pathologists,
- surgeons,
- medical oncologist/hematologist (providing chemotherapy & other IV/systemic therapies), and
- radiation oncologists like R. Boussaneault.

Not only is Moffitt "more varied in what it offers", but coordination and timing of the various treatments can be managed from beginning to end over a period of weeks, months or years with the same dr. or team at the helm.

I don't doubt that RBOI does a good job in the radiation therapy portion of treatment IF radiation is deemed needed and appropriate by the dr./team in charge of one's overall treatment plan.

But, I hope newly diagnosed cancer patients get a consult with a medical oncologist/hematologist or oncology surgeon first, or a multi-specialty team at a Comprehensive Cancer Center like Moffitt.

Otherwise, the ball can easily be dropped in finding a dr. in each of the various specialties involved and then in trying to get a timely appointment for consult and then treatment with each of them.

When all h*ll breaks loose upon diagnosis, you're totally overwhelmed, and the only word you can hear is "cancer, cancer, cancer" while scientific information is flooding at you from all sides, it is essential to have a medical oncologist/hematologist or team at the helm, coordinating and overseeing each step of the treatment plan they design, implement, or possibly change course in.

From reading that newspaper ad, I fear unknowing patients might focus on only one portion of treatment possiblyneeded (radiation therapy), without enough focus on the overall, multi-specialist picture and care.

We were just discussing this at lunch
 

I had lunch yesterday with a women who was treated at the center other than Mofit. She said she was very well treated and got the radiation which her doctor ordered. She spoke highly of the center. I was not aware we already had another treatment center with exactly the same kind of equiptment. The whole situation seems quite odd.

Not for monopolies
 

It's not odd at all for a cluster of cities to have more than one physician-owned, for-profit private practice clinic having the same high-tech equipment as the major hospitals in town.

It's no different than a city having multiple physician-owned eye surgery centers equipped to do laser or other high-tech eye surgeries, while the non-profit hospitals in town offer the same services and technology.

They compete, and in a free-enterprise system, competition causes providers to constantly improve their skills and technology to attract more patients.

Many people decry physician-owned, for-profit hospitals and clinics like the one in the ad, because of where the profits go (into investors' personal income). Non-profit centers like Moffitt reinvest "profits" back into the clinical services/facilities offered.

In this case, the physician-owned, for-profit radiation clinic dislikes its new competition and took out the full-page ad again today to portray it as "needless". But I don't think PATIENTS consider it needless to have more than one choice of hospital or treatment centers, instead of a monopoly.

To the contrary, I think a lot of people prefer to use non-profit hospitals and clinics that are funded by community foundations that are held accountable to their donors-patients.

If a physician-owned clinic/hospital has no competition, they can do lots of things a monopoly can, like up-selling more than is necessary; raise prices as much as their self-pay patients are willing to bear; or they can decide to put profits into investors' own pockets instead of investing in upgrading their skills, equipment and facilities as a non-profit hospital is required to do.

I'm not saying that this particular radiation clinic ("institute") is not good nor that it rips people off. I'm just saying that a monopoly makes that more possible.

Well stated LuvItHere!

I don't understand the confusion this topic seems to bring on. Nobody seems to question why the Hospital (TVRH) has over 700 volunteers. It is expected that not for profit centers (especially medical ones) need the help of the community to prosper. Since none of your money is going to this venture unless you donate then why all the concern? If it was announced that the Cleveland Clinic was opening a satellite hospital in TV and needed volunteers and benefactors, there would be nothing but praise for how our community was moving up in the world of health care. Why should a well respected cancer center be any different?

I still think the distrust that seems to be shown on this forum for Moffitt is a general mistrust of the Morse family. To me the Moffitt center addition is no more a part of Morse Inc. than was Wal-Mart (when we already had a Target) or Bonefish (when we already had Red Lobster) etc. Companies of all types realize the great potential in our huge older adult population. If you have a service you bring it to where the consumers are!

World-class treatment
 

Mentioning Cleveland Clinic as an example is a good one here, on the topic of Moffitt coming here. Heads of state from around the world choose Cleveland Clinic for their cancer and other diagnostics and treatments. . .

. . . But yet, Cleveland Clinic is not among of the 40 "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" designated and accredited by the National Cancer Institute, as Moffitt IS!!!

This speaks volumes as to what a high, above-high level of services/facilities Moffitt offers, and we will have access to it right here in The Villages . . . where we can go on a golf cart in a safe, clean city and not in the depths of urban, dirty, crime-ridden, traffic-bound Cleveland or other such place!!

I only referred to Cleveland Clinic since it was ranked in the top 5 overall health care facilities (and #1 in heart health) in the US. http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings

But your point is well taken.

Yep. That Russ Boston knows. The number 1 heart hospital in the United States is in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ohio. Yep.

And the urban shabbyness that happens around such a huge, successful, sought after, highly used, facility happens a lot to other like facilities across the country.

Hope it doesn't happen here.

But...it is well worth that chance.

Well said Russ. I see the bottom line here as having choices and the fact that I don't have to drive a good distance for treatment if my cancer ever surfaces again. It is all about choice.

I know I will be accused of "Morse bashing" for saying this, but, nobody seems go have mentioned it yet. If you have been here as long as I have, you probably remember when the building of the Villages Hospital was proposed. Morse said we need it and that Villagers should pay to have it built. Otherwise, it would never be built. Many of us said "What The Hey??????" Meetings were held, Morse and many medical dignitaries came to backup the idea of we, the residents, paying for the hospital. There was a lot of arguments against the suggestion, and, eventually, and magically, money appeared and the hospital was built. Here we go again......

See your point Cliff but this time it is by donation only. And anyone can give, not just the residents of TV. To my knowledge ALL non for profit hospitals and health centers take donations and volunteerism to make them work. Look up and down the corridors of almost any hospital in Boston (I have seen most of them) and you will see their wall of fame with all of the benefactors listed. Usually entire wings are built with donations from wealthy contributors.

If we were being taxed in some way to make this happen then I can see everyone's point. But we are not. I think it is that simple. Am I wrong? Somebody please argue that point.

It seems to me that the right to choose your own healthcare is the most important thing mentioned.

the profits plowed back in are usually post-salary and BONUS both of which can be any number ($) the corp's board allows, the 'plow back' is not necessarily a big number after these and other staff expenses.....just saying there is not any implied morality or lack thereof in either scenario. I just think it a little 'cheesy' (no offense Wisc. fans) to ask for donations to equip the Moffitt Center when you are truly donating to the Villages Health system which will own the equipment NOT Moffitt, if they vacate they leave without the equipment....just say it the way it is. It smelled of deception, it actually should be seen as a benefit...the Villages will still have a cancer treatment center that could be marketed to another large group. Come on, enough of you out there saw this kind of maneuver out in the business world. I think there is one question on the center website that says the equipment will remain with the Villages because it will BELONG to the Villages Health....:shocked:

The fact that Moffitt is the only designated comprehensive cancer center in Florida shouldn't diminish the fact that there are other excellent cancer treatment facilities in the state. For instance, a check of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Orlando lists over 50 physicians on staff across many cancer specialties.

M.D. Anderson Houston is ranked the #1 cancer hospital for 2010-2011 by U.S. News & World Report. The Orlando facility is linked by telemedicine to Houston for complex cases. I imagine that telemedicine will also play a big part in Moffitt's operation in TV and Leesburg.

Donate
 

How often do you go to the mail box and get a bunch of junk mail asking for donations? What do you do with most,it goes in the circular file. If you don't want to DONATE DON'T., But on the other side don't beat the crap out of someone asking for a top notch cancer center in your back yard. If you feel it's worth while Thank You For Your Support. If not take this as another request and throw it in the trash. Butr emember if you need the facility someone else helped you out. I think that's what TV is al aboiut. JMHO.

"LuvItHere; Having the same calibre of oncology radiation equipment does not put a local, private radiation oncologist practice in the same league as an NCI-designated, not-for-profit Comprehensive Cancer Center like Moffitt"

Don't believe this crap! being in the same league as you call it, has nothing to do with the experience, level of care and the ethical quality care of patients. Don't be mislead by the term "not for profit" its an elaborate term for "we use to funds however we want and then don't show a profit at the end of the year"

A lot of us here in the villages are retired CEO's CFO's etc, don't try to pull that over on us cause "we ain't buying it ! " :blahblahblah:

Please just answer: 'why do you care'? None of your money is going towards this. Did you try to stop WalMart when they built?

I just don't get it. What is the probelm in your eyes, Mr. CEO/CFO? I like to be educated. Teach us please.